Optical interconnection devices such as optical wave guides have been designed for application of chip-to-chip connections and other electrical components. The advantages of the use of organic polymer films are the large signal band widths and reduced propagation delay, and are amenable to solution spin casting and other techniques. Organic polymers have lower dielectric constants and can have large electro-optic or other nonlinear optical responses that are electronic in origin and therefore have low loses even in high frequency regimes.
Standard lithography processes, together with dry etching, have been used to create experimental integrated optical wave guides. Optical wave guides have been formed in organic films by inducing refractive index changes by ultraviolet light in methods such as (1) photochemical crosslinking, followed by dissolution of the remaining uncross linked material (2) xe2x80x9cphoto-lockingxe2x80x9d i.e. photochemical attachment, dimerization or polymerization of high refractive index monomer in a transparent polymer matrix film, followed by baking to remove the remaining volatile monomer from non-irradiated areas; (3) pattered argon ion laser irradiation; (4) thermal annealing; and (5) electron beam radiation.
Formation of wave guide structures in optical organic materials through the photochemical transformation disclosed, for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,783,136, 4,889,405 and 5,054,872.
Past methods and active media for controlled production and optical access of data include controlled differences in absorption characteristics of molecules at selected regions. This involves the use of at least two intersecting beams of radiation which are matched to selected optical properties of an active media. A bit of data at a selected portion of a region of active media is accessed by directing a first beam having a first electromagnetic radiation characteristics matched to a first optical characteristic of the media at the region to change the condition of the media to a second characteristic. This second characteristic may be of either low or high optical reactivity, depending on the bit valve at programmed portions of the region. The second characteristic is relative to a second radiation characteristic, other than the first radiation characteristic, then directing a second beam matched to the second electromagnetic radiation characteristic to intersect the region at a selected portion containing the bit of data to be accessed to permit optical sensing of the state of the bit.
Full optical type optical elements perform information processing on an input signal light beam through the use of light beams including the signal light beam and an auxiliary light beam for assisting operation. The optical element includes aggregates which are dispersed within the optical element as optical functional aggregates, and which are composed of a single kind or multiple kinds of compounds including a single species of atoms or molecules. Aggregates are dispersed within a transparent polymer film and are responsive to auxiliary light beam to perform a function on an input signal light beam to produce an output signal beam.
This invention is designed to process information using optical materials in a complex network structure which is referred to as the interconnecting network structure, herein referred to as the xe2x80x9coptical cellxe2x80x9d. Other patents such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,136,682 and 5,273,863, document the use of polymeric materials to form optical films for interconnecting opto-electric devices and systems. The present invention is based on the total optical process that does not require any such interconnection of opto-electric processing devices and/or systems.
An optical processor is formed of an polymer material base preferably using an acrylic polymer. The acrylic polymer material is formed into a network of optical pathways, such as rows and columns, such that a matrix is provided. The matrix is formed with a variety of optically active materials to thereby produce a gate-like system able to optically manipulate information. The present invention uses an acrylic polymer material in a multiple branched structure wherein each individual node or gate represents a particularized set of frequencies for light passing therethrough. Optically active materials are infused into the optical processing cells formed within the matrix and are activated upon light passing through the optical processing cells.
The manufacture of the optical network structure is based on techniques similar to lithographic principles, not excluding other processes, used in the manufacturing of printed circuit boards, electronic processors, and lithographic printing.
It is an object of the present invention to provide polymeric materials, and optical materials, for the formation and structure of an interconnecting optical network structures, and the manufacture of such devices and systems.
A further object of the present invention is to provide polymeric compositions and the combination of optical materials used to form an interconnecting network structure able to adhere to a broad number of substrates.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an interconnecting network structure which form optical data processing devices wherein beams of light which are input into the devices cause activation of photoreactive nodes located in the network structure to cause the emission of secondary light beams of selected frequencies which are then used to produce readable digital information.
Yet another important object of the present invention is to provide a method for forming polymeric compositions containing optically polaring material used in conjunction with the photoreactive material located where needed in the interconnecting network structure.
Another specific object of the present invention is to provide polymeric compositions into which the optically polar material(s) and photoreactive material(s) are inserted for use in forming interconnecting network structures for optical processing. Further, the compositions show excellent multi-layer adhesion and are sufficiently thermally stable at temperatures in excess of 300xc2x0 F.
Yet another specific object of the present invention is to provide polymeric composition(s), containing optically polar material(s) and photoreactive material(s) in an interconnecting network structure, formulations which manifest suitable optical properties, which are capable of being handled during fabrication of the optical network processor, and other optical materials which are curable by exposure to actinic radiation and which manifest improved adhesion to other polymeric composition(s) layers and difficult substrates, such as quartz, crystalline substrates, polyimide, polypropylene, polyvinylchloride, and other materials commonly known.
Another object of the present invention is to provide methods of combining the polymeric composites to form the interconnecting network structure to optical silicon structures that are specifically fine tuned for desired optical effects.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide the structure of the polymeric composition and the optically polar and photo-reactive materials of the interconnecting network structure wherein alternate paths for transmission of light beams of controlled frequencies emitted by the photoreactive nodes are of precise lengths required for selectively augmenting the strength of the beams by positive interference or canceling out of the beams by means of negative interference.
Yet another specific object of the present invention is to provide a method of attaching available optical storage devices such as photo-refractive optical storage devices, which store information in optical recording media such as, but not excluding other materials, BaTiO3, KNbO3, LiNbO3, Srl-xBaxNb2O6 (SBN) ,Bal-xSrKl-yNaNb5O15(BSKNN), Bil2SiO2O(BSO), Bil2GeO2O(BGO), GaAs, InP, GeP, and CdTe.
One more specific object of the present invention is to provide the method of forming the polymeric composition containing optically polar material and photo-reactive material to create an optical network processor.
Further, in accordance with the present invention, novel methods are provided for forming the polymeric composition for the interconnecting network structure that are cured in selected areas by actinic radiation. The methods disclosed are particularly useful in lithographic systems and processes in the preparation of interconnecting optical network structure.
One aspect of this invention provides the types of polymers and combinations of polymers for the preparation of the polymeric composition interconnecting network structure.
Another aspect of this invention provides the possible formulations, for the of an interconnecting optical network structure.
Another aspect of this invention provides precisely positioned optically polar materials used in the formation of the interconnecting optical network structure.
Yet another aspect of the invention provides photo-reactive materials contained in the interconnecting optical network structure.
A further aspect of this invention provides additives which may be included in the polymeric composition for the formation of the interconnecting optical network structure.
A yet further aspect of this invention provides polymeric compositions containing optically polar and photo-reactive materials which form the interconnecting optical network structure that has been formed by curing selected areas by actinic radiation through an appropriate mask structure.
A still further aspect of this invention provides a method for forming the base polymeric composition on a substrate. This method comprises the steps of:
1. Placing a clad precursor layer on at least a part of the surface of the substrate.
2. Forming a specific core composition of polymeric formula that has a higher refractive index than the clad layer.
3. Curing the layers whereby a film is formed of primer which is securely adhered to a substrate.
Another aspect of this invention provides a method of forming a polymeric composition layer onto the surface of the primary layer which forms the interconnecting optical network structure.
Another aspect of this invention describes a method which combines the optically polar material, the photo-reactive material, or other optical material into the core polymeric composition used to form a node in the interconnecting network structure.
Another significant aspect of this invention discloses a structure that forms a matrix capable of performing data manipulation such as numeric operations, logic processes, and binary processes.
Another aspect of this invention discloses a light transmissive structure containing optically polar materials and photo-reactive materials which emit light when activated by a primary light source whereby an interconnecting network structure capable of processing data for numeric and logic is formed.
Another further aspect of this invention provides a method of connecting fiber optics and photo-refractive storage devices and or similar systems to an interconnecting network structure.
Another aspect of this invention provides a method of connecting optical materials, including fiber optical material, to the interconnecting network structure in the formation of interconnecting the device to other devices and/or systems.
Yet another aspect of this invention provides a method of using an interconnecting network structure to perform data processing functions.